Barclays Plc reached a long-term target for shrinking its stake in its African unit earlier than expected as the bank boosted the size of a share sale by more than 50 percent.
The London-based lender is selling 285.7 million shares of Barclays Africa Group Ltd., equal to a 33.7 percent stake, at 132 rand each, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The bank previously planned to sell a 22 percent stake and said it increased the size of the offering “due to strong investor demand.”
The sale will raise about 37.7 billion rand ($2.9 billion) and is part of plans by Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley, 60, to reduce the lender’s presence on the continent in favor of supporting a trimmed-down investment bank focused on London and New York.
The British bank, which has had a presence on the continent for more than 100 years, first bought a controlling stake in the Johannesburg-based lender in 2005 when it was still called Absa Group Ltd.